We don't have an allergy issue that forces us to into this. We have just seen enough benefits to know that this feels right and we want to keep exploring it. My challenge was to bring enough snacks to help distract us from readily available gluten options, and to find eating spots where we could at least attempt the gluten-free thing even if it didn't pan out.
You can imagine my excitement to discover New Day restaurant in Ellisville, a suburb of St. Louis. The restaurant is entirely gluten-free and they take it seriously. A sign posted on the door states that no one is to bring in outside food. Anyone with celiac disease will tell you that cross-contamination is a huge scary issue in places where there is no dedicated allergy work space. I love that folks can feel safe and relax when they enter the door here. It must be such a relief.
We opted for cheese pizza for the kids and grilled cheese and tomato soup for me (this is my comfort meal). My previous experience with gluten-free pizza has been pretty disappointing. It's not terrible... it's just not that great. And you want pizza to be great.
This pizza was fantastic. Thin crust, nice thick cheese. Very tasty. And by the sounds of the carry out orders coming in over the phone, everyone else loves it too.
My grilled cheese was pretty good. Gluten-free bread always tastes a little different, but I have to say if I really had a craving for grilled cheese again, I'd order this one. It's not an exact replica, but it's a fair substitute.
And perhaps the best part was the baked goods area where customers can pick up cookies, muffins, breads and all sorts of goodies. I grabbed some gooey butter cake cookies (yum) and muffins and banana bread. That's the nice excuse of a road trip, this shopping can be classified under both the "food" section of the trip and the "souvenir" section. I had wanted to bring something to share with our friends when we arrived and this fit the bill.
Perhaps one of the most heartwarming parts of this visit was reading all the reviews on the place. It is such a gift for some folks to have a gluten-free restaurant. They tell stories of having been recently diagnosed and feeling completely underwater. A restaurant like this helps them find good food when they feel like they've been asked to put it away on the shelf.
If you have any friends or relatives looking for a place like this, I would suggest New Day in a heart beat. It's not fancy, but it's safe and friendly and good. What more can we ask for?
No comments:
Post a Comment